


silencieux

by cow_beaus, Windows_98



Category: Original Work
Genre: (no i don't), All The Cows Are Named Judith, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxious French Man, Arson, Caffeine, Caffeine Addicted French Man, Caffeine Addiction, Coffee, Country & Western, Cows, Dogs, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Family Member Death, Friends to Lovers, Gay, Gen, Grizzled Cowboy, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Highland Calves, Horses, I promise, Isolation, Lactose Addicted French Man, Light Angst, Loss, M/M, Original Fiction, Ouch, Pain, Poggers?, Robbery, Sharing a Bed, Sleepwalking, This Fic Was NOT Written By Eighth Graders, excruciating pain, heart problems, house fire, just pain, poggers!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:48:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29963217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cow_beaus/pseuds/cow_beaus, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windows_98/pseuds/Windows_98
Summary: Of all the things either man expected, this was not it.Austin was just a hardworking country man with a gruesome past, isolating himself from the world.Elias was a traveler, ostracized by his country and forced to leave the only home he knew.Although their differences and initial hatred towards one another, the two men learn to form friendship and possibly.. even more.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Rough Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO hi  
> me and my friend have spent a while writing this weird rp on a shared google doc during school but we liked it so much we made it an actual story lol  
> it's not the best because we're both 14 and not experienced writers but we tried out best to write an epic gay love story between a cowboy and not-cowboy  
> hopefully people can tolerate it long enough to finish it  
> have fun

Austin sat on his porch in his rocking chair sipping on iced tea, moving back and forth. The sun was setting, and the breeze outside was warm.

Elias walked slowly through a quiet field. Wind blew through his hair and nearly knocked his ponytail loose, but he fixed it up again and continued on.

Austin stopped sipping his iced tea abruptly as he saw a man in tattered clothes and a torn hat.

Elias heard a sudden noise and tensed, looking in the direction of a house where a man with a glass in his hand was staring directly at him. He paused.

Austin checked his revolver for bullets, “What’re you doin' on my land?”

“Sir, I.. I mean no harm. Not at this moment, no.” 

"Well are you just gonna stand there?” Austin gestured to the strange man to come forward, “C’mere.”

Elias felt anxiety rush through his veins, but nonetheless he slowly stepped towards the porch, staring at the man closely.

Austin, thinking that this man was going to be a problem, pointed his revolver at the strange man until he could visibly see his knees shaking.

“What are you doing?” Elias asked in a quiet but clearly scared tone.

“I’m testing something”, one by one, Austin let out all six bullets into the hat this man was wearing, “So now that that’s taken care of what’s your name son?”

Elias nearly fell onto the ground as he watched his hat get torn by the bullets. He looked back to the man and took a deep breath.

“I am Elias. I mean no harm.”

“I understand the no harm thing but that hat was a harm to my eyeballs,” Austin said. In an inaudible tone Austin muttered, “Filthy vagabond."

Elias just stood still, not sure whether he should continue forward after what had happened. _Was this man truly dangerous?_

Austin looks at Elias sizing him up. He looks short, but maybe that’s because he’s on the porch “Are you homeless or something? A hobo?”

“Perhaps,” Elias responded, “But if that is a problem for you, then I am not.”

“It is a problem, a really big problem. I don’t like strays.” Austin said dryly.

“I am not a ‘hobo’ then, cowboy.” Elias tried not to let his hands shake or his face show his anxiety. Maybe, if he acted confident enough, the man would let him go safely.  
?"

Austin takes notice of how scared this man is his hands and knees are trembling in fear or the cold or maybe both. “Come inside, I’m freezing out here; Just be careful and don’t touch anything,” Austin said while glaring at Elias.

Elias put his hands to his sides and walked forward onto the porch. He darted his eyes around and kept looking to the other man’s belt, checking closely for any weapons that could be potential danger.

They both walked inside. 

Austin walked towards the record player and put on a record, some old bluegrass song that started playing loudly and startled the hound dog laying by the coffee table.

“So, uh.. Elias. That’s it, right”? 

“That is my name, yes.” Elias looked at the now woken dog and felt a little less scared. Surely, a man with a dog would not be too cruel, right?

“Would you like some coffee”? Austin said in a more neutral tone.

Elias nodded. “It has been quite some time since I have had coffee, but I am sure I’ll enjoy it. I appreciate the gesture, cowboy.”

“Call me Mr. Grint. Can’t go running around calling me cowboy,” Austin walks towards the kitchen feeling crazy because he just let a possible derelict into his home, and the worst part about it was that he was kinda comfortable.

“Do you have any milk? For the coffee.” Elias felt as though he may have been overstepping a line, but he asked anyways.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I just milked Judith this morning, so I have plenty. Would you like some sugar, too?” Austin said, still slightly alert.

“Yes, please.” Elias responded. The hound dog trotted up to him, sniffing suspiciously before nudging his leg. He paused, but leaned down to pet the animal.

“Nice dog.”

“Yeah she’s been with us for awhile, just be careful; She can’t see too well, so she might get scared.” Austin said, eyeing the way the man petted the dog.

Elias almost smiled when the dog licked his hand happily, but he contained himself for the sake of not being mocked by the other man.

“..Us?” He decided to ask, noting the words used by the man before.

“Oh, uh.. Sorry. I’m so used to my son being here. I say us all the time.. my wife and my son passed away a few years back. Been here since then.” Austin said almost about to break down, but he kept his composure.

“I am.. So sorry. I did not mean to upset you. I cannot relate to such loss, but I do apologize for bringing the subject up.” Elias stuttered out, feeling guilty for making the man nearly break (as he could see with a quick glance.) 

“It’s fine, I’m over it now,” Austin said . He quickly changed the subject and said, “Do you have a place to stay, son?”

Elias grimaced. He hadn’t had a place to stay or even sleep safely for quite some time, but he did not know if he should tell the man.

“I.. not exactly. I sleep in the woods, or on the ground in the plains.” He shrugged his shoulders and pet the dog again for comfort.

“I have been quite lonely, and I kinda feel bad for shooting your hat up. Would you like to stay here in my son’s old bedroom?” Austin asked, slightly worried and slightly happy that he could have someone to talk to in the mornings and help him around the house and ranch.

“Of course, yes. I thank you for your generosity.” Elias was surprised. Not about 20 minutes ago, the man had seemed to hate him, and now he was going to stay in his house. Wow.

“Okay."


	2. All The Cows Are Named Judith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first morning.  
> (Elias learns how to milk a cow, among other things.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the cows are named judith.

The night had ended on a positive note, with both Austin and Elias seemingly gaining a new companion (friend?). The rest of the night passed quickly, like a cheetah on ice skates, and before long the morning had come and it was time to wake.

Elias woke up a little confused. He blinked blearily as the rising sunlight bled through the blinds and hit his eyes. Once he remembered the previous night’s events, he looked around the room he was staying in once more and rose from bed, heading to the kitchen.

Austin was almost done with cooking breakfast when Elias walked in,

“Good morning, beautiful.” Austin said jokingly.

Elias let out a sigh that sounded kind of like a laugh. “Good morning, Mr. Grint. What are you cooking?”

“Eggs, grits, and bacon. That okay”? Austin replied with a grin.

“Yes,” Elias spoke, “But do you have any more coffee?”

“Of course. You drank a lot last night, though, so I’m almost out of milk,” Austin said “Would you like to help me get more”?

“If you mean milking the cow, yes. I would like to help.”

“That’s what I meant, and thank you.” Austin concluded with a big smile

They went out to the barn where the cow was, and Elias looked up at the sky. It was faded from red to blue, and Elias thought it was pretty. Before he could continue admiring it, though, the sound of the barn door opening snapped him out of his mind and made him pay attention to his current task.

Austin got two stools and a bucket and showed him all of his cows. They were all named _**Judith** ,_for some strange reason.

“Those cows are.. Interestingly named. Now, we should start doing the milking, I suppose.” Elias said, looking around the barn.

Austin looked at him in the eyes, dropped his expression, and grunted, “I named them after my wife.”

“Oh.” Elias muttered.

“It’s… Fine. Now, let’s go milk some cows.”

They walked up to Judith and Elias cautiously poked her udder. 

“How do I do it?” He asked.

Austin walked over and steered Elias’ hands towards the cows udder and made his hand milk the cow. 

“That's how you do it,” Austin said.

Elias slowly milked the cow, trying to get the hang of it while Austin watched and sometimes assisted.

“Am I doing good at it, Mr. Grint?” He asked, feeling a little confused.

‘You’re doing fine, son. Phew! I’m going to go make me a brew, do you want one”? Austin said, noticing that Elias had turned pale.

“Err, yes. And since there’s a bit of milk in here already, would you mind adding extra milk to my cup? I just like the lactose.” Elias replied.

“No, we have to use that for butter, but I still have a little left in the icebox, ” Austin said with a smile.

Elias tried to smile back, and nodded. He turned away from the cow and sat for a few seconds, his head feeling a bit whirly, for some reason. He grabbed the damp towel from the rack pressing it gently on his forehead.


	3. Before The War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Austin and Elias head to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi hello again  
> it's thursday  
> also forgot to say but each of austin's lines were written by ethan and each of elias' lines were written by kieran so that's why the formatting is so weird!!!  
> also also if you want to read some more stuff (fanfiction, mainly) go to Kierxn on ao3 !! it's kieran's actual account lol

One morning, about three months later, Austin woke up to a nice breakfast of eggs the consistency of custard, grits that had sugar in them (Austin didn’t really enjoy them), some coffee that was plain black (the way he likes it) and some bread. 

“Elias, I didn’t know you could cook this well. Where do you come from, if you don’t mind tellin’?”

“Ah, I come from southern France. Well, I was born and raised there. I haven’t been back in quite some time,” Elias poked at his own plate of breakfast and held back a grimace.

“Ah, I heard France is very nice,” Austin said “Hey, I see some dirt on your face. You should go wash up after breakfast. We have to go to town to get some hogs, and a horse for you.”

Elias nodded. “Alright. And before I finish eating, I want to say that France is not quite as lovely as it seems.” Elias didn’t say anything after that, instead opting to shove some bread in his mouth and stay distracted with old newspaper articles.

Austin didn’t know what that meant, but he just walked over and started cleaning the dishes and silverware.

“If you’re finished, I can take your plate and fork,” He said.

“Yes, I’m finished,” Elias replied, handing his plate over.

_[A few minutes later…]_

Austin was sitting on the couch, playing with Beth.

“What’s taking Elias so darned long?” He asked out loud.

Elias had gone to clean his face and get dressed, but took a look at himself in the bathroom mirror and stared at his face for a while. When had he gotten so skinny, and mangy? Had the wilderness truly done this to him? A few minutes later, he snapped out of it, washed his face, and went back to the living room.

“Sorry I took so long,” He said.

Beth bounded towards Elias, jumping up on him.

“Whoa there, Beth! It’s alright. Let’s go get to the wagon so we can get on to town. It’s almost late,” Austin commented with a warm smile.

They rode to town and Elias took in the views. It was nice, compared to France’s dirty city streets and the chaotic, dangerous wild of the rest of America. He smiled to himself and pet Beth, waiting for them to arrive.

Once they had arrived in town, Austin took out his wallet and paid for the pigs.

He looked at Elias. 

“Elias, I’ve realized quickly that you just can’t stay with me all the time and that you might like to go on trips of your own, so I saved some money to buy a horse for you.” Austin said, smiling.

“Oh,” Elias replied, face clear with surprise, “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Grint. I appreciate it greatly.”

He grinned visibly and looked around. The town gave off a friendly feeling, like he knew it already, but everything he was seeing was new to him.

They walked toward the stables 

“Which one would you like?” Austin asked.

Elias pointed towards a plain, brown Tennesse Walker.

“That horse looks like a good one, plus it fits our budget, I believe.” He said.

“Don’t worry about our budget,” Austin replied with slight anger, “because we don’t have one!”

“Oh, okay.” Elias flinched a little at the shout, but looked around at the other horses. There were a couple of good horses, most for hard working or hard riding, but Elias settled on a kindly looking speckled Orlov Trotter. 

  
“Now that’s a beaut,” Austin noted with a twinge of jealousy.

“Yeah, she sure is.” Elias said fondly, patting the horse and smiling. “I think I’ll name her.. Antebellum. That is a pretty word, and a pretty name for such a horse.”

“It sure is.” Austin said with a laugh.

“So, what other business do we have to attend to again?” Elias asked.

“I think that’s it we should get home now. Beth is getting restless,” Austin said as the hound was bounding and leaping around.

“Okay. Off we go, then.” Elias laughed a little bit at Beth’s playfulness.

Austin was ready to go home. All of this social interaction made him anxious.

The ride home wasn’t too exciting, just a simple ride with Elias occasionally pointing out some cows or a nice looking patch of woodland. He supposed it would be a really nice day.

He was proven wrong minutes later. 


	4. War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoiler: the dog dies.

When they arrived at the house, the stables were up in flames.

“What in the hell?” Elias shouted, rushing closer to the stables. He felt fear, and worry for anything that was in the stables.

“NO! JUDITH!” Austin screamed, rushing inside to grab buckets. Tears streamed down his face.

Elias, though startled, looked around to figure out what to do. With a gasp, he looked towards the south of the barn and saw two cows that had managed to get out without dying. “Judith..” He said quietly, running over to them.

Austin came out with several buckets of water filled to the brim. He somehow managed to carry all of them without spilling a drop, dedicated to his task so much that he couldn’t fail.

_Who could’ve caused this?_ Elias wondered. _This isn’t a natural fire. Somebody had to have started it themselves._ He gathered up the two cows (and three more that had scattered about) and brought them to a clear field for safety. He took a quick look over their injuries, mostly minimal burns, and sighed.

_The fire had been put out the air filled with smells of terror, sadness, and smoke._ “Somebody did this.. there's nothing in the stables that could’ve caused a fire this big.” Austin observed, puzzled.

“Yes. That fire was a roaring one, and I doubt there was anything in there that could have caused something like this. It didn’t help, either, that it hadn’t rained for a while. Dry wood makes a big burn.” Elias rubbed his temples and looked back at the wreckage that was once the stables.

“ Yeah, dry wood causes big fires, but they die out quickly. That means the culprit wanted the stables to be gone quickly,” Austin grumbled, face scrunched up in confusion.

“It’s a good thing we got here when we did, though, because it would’ve been the house next.”

Elias once again looked over the cows (which were all named Judith.) “The cows will make it, I think, but they’re hurt. We either need to figure out how to heal them ourselves or hire a vet.” He said.

“We have some ointments and some damp towels that should do help,” Austin replied while running off to the house.

Elias stood by the cows and waited, nervously digging his boots into the dirt.

Out of nowhere, several gunshots went off, and then there was a period of silence. Austin emerged from the house, the limp body of Beth held tight in his arms. He was sweaty, and his face had gone pale, highlighting small specks of blood spattered on his cheek.

Elias let out a sob and gritted his teeth. He didn’t know what to do, so he stood still in place and felt his hands and knees shaking, much like the first time he’d met Austin.

“She was just sitting on the couch sitting there, and the scoundrel shot her.. so I filled him with lead.” Austin said, barely keeping it together.

Elias let out another sob, staring at Beth’s unmoving body.

“Where.. Where will we bury her?” He asked quietly. For a moment, the only noises were the moos from the cows (which were all named Judith) and the rustling of the leaves.

“We’ll bury her with Luke and Judith,” Austin replied solemnly, pointing to the wooden grave markers in the open field on a hill by an old tree, “I made the grave markers with the wood from the tree that killed them.”

“I think I still have some of it left,” He said, finally letting out a sniffle.

They headed up to where the tombstones were, Elias feeling grief for both Beth and Austin’s family well up in his heart. He sobbed once more.

_After burying Beth, they went inside. Austin collapsed on the bed, filled with exhaustion and grief. Elias sat on the couch, staring at the corpse that used to be the man who killed Beth (may she rest in peace.)_

Elias took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and picked up the body. He tossed it in a part of the field where scavenging birds would eat at it, and then he headed back inside. He poured himself a straight black coffee and sat back on the couch.

Austin woke up to a loud clang. He walked into the kitchen and saw Elias.

“Wow, straight black coffee, you must be rattled.” Austin noted as he walked to the pot to pour himself some, “Are you okay?”

“Mostly, it’s just that.. I loved that dog. Beth was such a sweet girl.” Elias said quietly, sipping his coffee. The caffeine would help him feel a little less hollow, he hoped.

“Well, she was about to die in her condition,” Austin commented in between sips of coffee.

“Still. I grew pretty attached, I guess.” Elias drank the rest of his coffee and stared at the wall, mostly unthinking.

“It’s ok, I understand, but we’ll just have to move on,” Austin said, “I’m gonna go back to bed.”

Then Austin went back to his room. The rush of everything that happened that day had made him too tired to fall asleep, so he just stared at the ceiling, listening to the soft breeze outside his window.

Elias put his mug in the sink, washed his face with cold water, and went to his own (well, technically not his own just quite yet but he considered it his own) room. He curled up under a mound of blankets and closed his eyes, wishing only for a long, dreamless sleep.


	5. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New dogs, new Austin, new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright ok ah ah alright ok   
> (We're slowly losing our minds, turn yours over. Join us, thrive.)

The next morning started slow, neither of them wanted to get up despite it being Monday. They were both sore and had huge welts and blisters on their hands from yesterday’s events.

Elias cooked some eggs, but when he sat down to eat, he just prodded at his food with his fork. He knew he had to move on from it, and that if he didn’t he couldn’t stay there, but that hard sadness sat deep in his chest.

“Well , I’m headed off to town,” Austin said, forking down all of his food quickly and grabbing his coat, “ I’ll be back in an hour.”

  
Elias blinked, and just kept sitting.

The hour passed slowly, but finally Elias heard something barking.

“It’s Austin!” A familiar voice yelled, Austin walking with two puppies in his hands, one for Elias and one for him.

Elias’ eyes went wide. 

“You got puppies?” He asked, surprised. He took the one that was for him and looked at her. He felt his heart grow warm and happy.

“Thank you, Austin.”

“Don’t mention it”, Austin said, grinning “They’re brother and sister. Mine’s name is Douglas.”

“What’re you going to name yours?”Austin asked him, Douglas licked his hand affectionately.

“I think I’ll call her Molly. A simple name, but a good one.” Elias laughed when Molly tried to bite him playfully. He had had this dog for five minutes, but he’d die for her.

“Oh, I also got something else,”Austin announced as Elias put his puppy down. Austin grabbed his arm, pulled him outside, and showed him the two highland calves in the wagon. 

“ I bought these two, and thought you might like to name them.”

Elias nearly squealed like a child, just barely managing to contain himself. Through Austin’s efforts, his gloomy, rough day had gone to a good one.

“I suppose we can’t name them Judith, since we already had so many Judiths before this..”

Austin liked that idea, but he had another.

“How about we name one of them Beth, in memory?” Austin asked, some of the grief returning to his face.

“That’s a pretty good idea. Beth the calf and.. What’re we gonna call the other one?”

Austin looked at the sky and wondered. Maybe his son's name? No, no, that would just make him feel sad around the calf.. 

“What about Jenny?” Austin said with a smile

“Jenny is a good one, yeah. Jenny and Beth.” Elias concluded, beaming. He pet the calves and put them down in the grass, watching them walk around for a bit.

“Let's go put them in the stable,” Austin said as the puppies started barking, wanting to be played with.

ELias helped put the cows up, and then felt a dog nudging into his leg. He looked down at Molly and picked her up, bringing her back outside. 

“Do you have any dog toys?” He asked, playfully ruffling Molly’s fur.

“Yeah, I think I do,” Austin replied while scratching his head. He wandered out to the wagon and picked up an armful of toys. Heading back, he handed half of the toys to Elias.

“Thank you,” Elias replied, throwing a tennis ball for Molly to catch. He laughed when she tumbled over her own paws a few times while chasing after the ball. He looked up for a moment and stared at Austin. Something about the man’s love for dogs made a little flame catch in Elias’ chest..

He shook the thought away, and went back to playing with Molly.

“C'mere, Douglas” Austin called, struggling to get Douglas to come. Douglas turned away until Austin finally picked him up. Douglas seemed to have a hanging tongue, because every time Austin looked at him, he had his tongue lolling out to the side. He pet the puppy and then sat him back down, hoping Douglas would stay. Douglas didn’t.

Elias played around with Molly for a bit, occasionally getting bitten by her, but most of the bites were shallow.

“How’s going with Douglas?” He asked Austin.

“Aw, it’s going well. He’s a bit of a stuntman, but that’s about it for any trouble,” Austin replied, looking out the window.

“Well shucks, look at the time! I think I’m headed off to bed, Douglas, come on,” Douglas, who had been playing with Molly, trotted down the hallway towards the master bedroom.

“Alright. I’m going to take a shower, and then go to sleep. Goodnight.” ELias walked off to the bathroom, closely trailed by Molly who whined when she wasn’t allowed to follow him in.  
“I’ll be back, I promise,” He said, turning the shower on.

He went to bed after that, bringing Molly with him and letting her sleep at the end of the bed. He went to sleep thinking vaguely of Austin playing with Douglas, for some reason.

Austin woke up on the couch, which was strange because he had gone to sleep in his bed. When he looked around, he didn’t see Douglas anywhere near him.

He walked into the restroom to see Douglas locked in.

"What the hell..?” Austin whispered, puzzled.

Elias woke up to Molly licking his face, forcing him to rise from bed. He walked slowly to the living room, rubbing his eyes and looking around for Austin. Austin came from the hallway, followed by Douglas who had just been released from the bathroom.

“Did you sleep well?” He asked Austin, who looked visibly distressed.

“Well, I think I did. I woke up on the couch and Douglas was locked in the bathroom.” Austin said, trying to pick up Douglas. The dog flinched and ran away.

“What happened to him? Did he get hurt?” Elias worriedly looked at the puppy running away and followed after him.

“I have no idea,” Austin said, following, “ I just found him in the restroom.”

“Huh.” Elias slowly walked up to Douglas, holding his hand out for the puppy to sniff. The dog was shaky and suspicious, but he still seemed to trust Elias a little.

“Guess something happened last night. He was not this nervous yesterday,” He noted.

“I don’t know, honestly. I think it’d be best to let him sleep with you tonight, and I can stay up to keep guard,” Austin said with concern

“Okay,” Elias felt nervous, but pushed it away and went to fill the dogs’ food bowls.

Austin continued his work for the day and took a nap, ready to get some solid, untroubled sleep.


	6. Meanwhile, In The Kitchen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange things occur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooOOooooOoOOooOo00ooOooOO000Ooo0oo

Elias was still awake in the kitchen cleaning up the counters, when someone suddenly joined him.

“Mr. Grint?” Elias looked confusedly at Austin wandering around the kitchen. Austin tried to open the fridge, but his hands kept slipping from the handle.

“ _Austin_ , are you okay?” Elias grabbed the man’s shoulder and shook him for a second, hoping Austin wasn’t sick or anything.

Austin woke up with a jump, looking around and seeing he was in the kitchen.

“What.. how did I get here?”” Austin said sleepily.

“I think you were.. Sleepwalking?” Elias let go of his shoulders. He had forgotten that was even a possibility, but now he supposed it was just a thing that happened.

“Huh…,” Austin said, going to sit down ,“ I think you might need to sleep in my room so you can keep me from sleep walking.” Austin said.

“Oh, alright.” Elias was a little surprised, but he was okay with the idea. He went back to making some toast.

“Can you make me some coffee?” Austin asked, rubbing his head.

“Yes, of course.” Elias finished buttering his toast and put a pot of coffee on. He checked the fridge for milk, only to find there wasn’t any left.

“We’re out of milk,” He stated, closing the fridge and sighing.

“It’s fine,” Austin said with a sigh, “Just make it black.”

“Okay.” Elias got the coffee ready, filled two mugs, and sat down on the porch.

“You want to join me?” He asked Austin, staring off into the distance.

Austin got up slowly, still tired and kinda shaken up from the whole sleepwalking incident.

“Sure.” He replied in a half-hearted tone. 

They sat for a while, sipping on bitter coffee and sometimes pointing out the birds flying from the trees. Elias felt sleep drift over him a little bit, closing his eyes and leaning back.

“It’ll be okay,” He said quietly, to Austin, “I’m sure we can figure this all out.”

They headed back inside, and Elias naturally began to walk to his room.

“Wait,” Austin stopped him, “You’re sleepin’ in my room now, remember?”

  
Elias blinked, nodded, and sleepily trudged to Austin’s room.


	7. The Diner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias and Austin have a very.. chaotic day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOO we have hits !! thank y'all :) we'll be uploading two chapters today, two tomorrow, and then one a day until the final chapter on friday :D also, i had to control myself from adding a salt and pepper diner reference sjjfjsjf

Austin, for once, woke up in his bed.

Elias was sleeping on the opposite side of him, about to fall off because he didn’t want to make things awkward. Austin let out a silent laugh.

To be honest, he was comfortable around Elias. It’d been nearly a year since he shot up Elias’ hat, and they’d grown quite close. He thought warmly of the days they spent together fixing up the new barn or riding along the trails. 

Smiling, he rose from bed and headed to the kitchen.

Elias felt himself wake up a little, but merely brushed it off and tried to go back to sleep. He knew something had moved beside him and peeked, realizing he had been sleeping next to Austin and the man was now leaving. He didn’t know what to do or say, so he just laid his head back on his pillow and drifted back to sleep.

The next day, Austin was in the kitchen putting butter in a container and saw Elias shuffle to the table sleepily.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Austin said, grinning and putting a big piece of bacon on the plate he was holding. “Here’s your breakfast, I’ve already eaten. I'm gonna go out to the barn, coffee is sat up on the stove if you need it.” Austin informed him while heading outside.

Elias grunted and promptly shoved food into his mouth. He was still drowsy and a little confused from sleep, but he managed to eat his breakfast and drink some coffee without much issue. 

After that, he splashed some water on his face, got dressed, and went out to join Austin in the barn.

Austin had just finished milking Judith (the one that was a little fiesty) and saw that Elias was headed towards him. He threw him a bucket and pointed towards the other end of the stables where another Judith was waiting to be milke. 

“She’s getting a little restless, you might want to hurry up.” Austin said somewhat sarcastically.

Elias rolled his eyes and walked over to Judith. He milked her quickly, and then patted her on the head.“We should have enough milk for the next few days, I think,” Elias said, carrying the bucket and walking back over to Austin.

Right before Elias got to him, Judith suddenly bucked up and hit Austin’s nose. He grunted and gritted his teeth, pinching his nose with an expression of pain on his face.

“God dang cow..” He cursed under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he brushed the pain off and walked over to the pen where the highland calves were.

“They’re growing pretty fast,” He noted, wiping his nose on his sleeve and petting Beth’s head.

“They sure are,” Elias smiled at the cows and ruffled their fur. “Do you need me to get a rag or something for your nose?” He asked Austin.

Austin looked at his shirt. It was covered in blood.

“No, I’ve got this,” He grumbled, grabbing a damp rag and wiping his face off. He walked back over to Judith and gave her a small knock on the head.

Elias gasped and smacked Austin’s cheek lightly..

“Be careful with the cow, she did kick you but you still have to make sure you don’t hurt her too bad.” 

“Oh, she gets herself into more trouble than she can handle! She’s lucky I don’t use her for a nice sirloin.” Austin joked, chuckling. Elias rolled his eyes.

“Ha, very funny. Now, what else do we have to do today?” Elias asked.

“Well, I was thinkin’ we could go on a trail ride with the horses and then head off to this nice diner in town. You ain’t never been and I didn’t want to cook tonight anyways, so..”

“That sounds good.” Elias replied, fondly thinking of their previous trail rides. He enjoyed riding Antebellum, especially when he was doing it with Austin.

“We gotta get washed up first, though,” Austin pointed out, gesturing to the dirt and blood on his shirt and laughing.

“Of course,” Elias looked at his own shirt and realized there was also dirt, muck, and a little blood collected on his shirt

“Sorry about that,” Austin said in reference to the blood stain on Elias’ shirt, “I have some detergent that’ll come make it right out. Let’s go on inside.”

They walked to the house and washed up, cleaning their hands and changing their clothes before getting on their horses

“Alright then, let’s get on to the diner,” Austin announced, picking up a slightly brisk pace on his horse.

Elias hadn’t gotten to ride properly on Antebellum very often, so he tried his best and hoped he wouldn’t mess up on the riding.

“Alright, okay,” He muttered, taking a deep breath and trying not to get worried.

Austin got lost in time and forgot that he hadn’t named his horse since he had gotten him. 

“Y’know, this guy hasn’t gotten named yet. I’m thinking something all old-fashioned, like, uh.. Atlas.” He said.

“Atlas, huh?” Elias thought the name was nice. It fit the horse well.

“As in, Atlas who held the world on his shoulders?” He asked when he suddenly remembered its origins.

“No, I just thought of it. But in my condition,” Austin pat his belly, “He is holding the world on his shoulders.”

“Hah! Funny. But really, sir, you’re not too bad off. You do enough work to even it out.” Elias said. He tried not to look too intensely, but he got a little lost in the way Austin’s shirt was laid across his body.

Austin poked at his stomach seeing that he was in shape (enough). He _did_ do physical activity every day, so it made sense.

They rode to the front of the diner, the neon signs glowing faintly. They hopped off of their horses and headed in.

Since he hadn’t had much of a breakfast, Austin ordered a burger big enough to scare every Judith.

“Wow,” Elias said, eyes widening when they brought the food out, “You really going to eat that by yourself?” 

“With gusto, ” Austin said, taking the toothpicks out of his burger.

He began to scarf down his food like he was at a professional eating contest.

Elias started eating his fries. He had only ordered those, a milkshake, and thought he might ask for a burger to go. He almost laughed at the way Austin ate his food.

“You must’ve been really hungry, I suppose.” He said.

Austin nodded, finished, and said, “It was pretty good.”

“I’m glad.”

Elias ate the rest of his fries and sipped on his shake. 

“This place has really good food.” He noted, smiling.

Austin finally took his eyes off of his own food and noticed that Elias only got fries and a shake 

“Why didn’t you get a burger?” he asked.

Elias grimaced. “Every time I think of burgers, I think of Beth and Jenny. I don’t know how comfortable I’d be eating a burger now.” He said. Elias, again, thought of the cows.

“Man..” Austin muttered. Then he ordered a burger which he proceeded to shove down in a to-go box.

“Is that for you, or for me?” Elias asked. He kept thinking about the cows. 

“It’s for you, pal,” He replied, “And it ain’t got any real meat.” 

He wiped the grease off of his face.

“Ah, alright… meatless burger?” Elias said, confused. He hadn’t ever heard of a meatless burger before, but there was always something new to see.

“Hey, Elias, you have some dirt on your lip,” Austin said leaning in close, “Let me clean it off.”

Austin grabbed a napkin, dipped it in water and proceeded to clean off his lip. (He wouldn’t say it or even fully _think_ it, but he knew he was just doing it to get close to Elias.)

“Oh, uh, thank you.” Elias didn’t quite know why Austin had to clean it himself, but he wouldn’t argue. He could feel his face grow warm and a little flushed.

Austin grabbed up their trash and put it in a neat spot on the table.

They got back on their horses and started heading towards the trail. 

“Again, that food was really good. Have you been to that diner before?” Elias asked.

“I went once before, and that was when Judith and Lukas were still around,” Austin said with a twinge of sadness “The food is as good as it was then too.”

“Oh.” Elias didn’t really know how to approach the subject of the man’s deceased family, so he often just didn’t mention it. But now he had to. Was he supposed to say something, or stay silent? He tried not to sigh. He thought too much.

“Sir, you haven’t told me what exactly went down, but it is _not_ your fault. I know for certain that you didn’t mean for them to die, and you miss them greatly, so it is clearly not something you caused to a full extent.” Elias said quietly with a meek expression. He silently hoped it was the appropriate thing to stay.

“I can’t _help_ but feel like it’s my fault,” Austin started.

“They died because of a bad accident… We were working outside, getting lumber, and I wasn’t paying attention , and the tree, it.. it..” Austin stammered. He felt his chest grow tight and the world slow down. He couldn’t move. Atlas stopped and Austin felt the reins fall from his hands. His feet slipped, and his vision went dark.


	8. A Time Of Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Austin suffers, Elias worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angst! how fun!

The moment Austin collapsed, Elias was there to catch him. It was a long process, but Elias managed to get the unconscious man onto the back of Antebellum. He rode home while leading Atlas, feeling worry bubble in his chest.

He didn’t quite know what else to do, so he laid the man on the couch and checked his pulse. Austin was still alive, the thrum of his heartbeat slow but steady.

“Should I phone a doctor?” He asked himself quietly. He cradled the man’s face a little and nervously thought of everything medical he knew.

Austin felt like he was in a dream world, his feet floating gently and the air around him unmoving.

On a familiar old couch, a woman sat and waited. 

“Judith..?” Austin Called out, He felt like he was drifting towards her, drawn closer every second. He began to walk towards her and then, in a sudden flash, he was jerked from his dream 

“No! Judith-” He shouted, shooting upwards into a sitting position. He felt pain surge through him and he clutched at his chest.

“Austin, you’re awake! Thank God..” Elias let out a breath he’d been holding.

“Are you okay? You- I.. sir, you ain’t looking too good. You should probably go to the doctor, or get a doctor down here.” He said.

“I’ll try when I stop feeling like I got shot,” Austin wiped the sweat from his forehead and palms.

“Do you know what could be wrong? That might help to know.” Elias asked nervously, gritting his teeth in anxiety.

“My doctor said that I might be havin’ heart troubles. Nothing dangerous enough to kill me, of course, but it hurts like hell.” Austin replied.

“Oh.” Elias still felt worried, even knowing Austin wasn’t in immediate danger.

“Will you be okay from here? Do you need medicine, or water, or something?” He sat back down on the couch and put his head in his hands.

“Water would be nice, please” Austin said feeling dehydrated.

Elias rushed off to the kitchen and got a glass of water. He came back to the living room and handed it off to Austin.

“Do you, like, need a straw? Or are you feeling okay enough to drink it plain?” He asked, not really knowing what to do in this situation. He wasn’t exactly accustomed to sick people, not since.. nevermind.

“No, just give me the dang water,” Austin grumbled. He snatched up the glass of water and drank it greedily, already feeling a little better just from being hydrated.

Elias sat and watched, trying to make sure Austin didn’t hurt himself any further by yelling or moving.

“Are you doing better now?” He asked.

“Yeah, I guess I..” Austin’s voice suddenly trailed off and he collapsed once more into a state of unconsciousness.

This time, in his dream, he was chopping down a tree. He realized where he was and started to tear up, desperately trying to pull the axe away from the tree to stop himself, but he couldn’t move. He screamed, yelling as loudly as he could for his wife and son to just _move_ and _dear god don’t die._

Elias had watched as Austin passed out and flailed about in his sleep, clearly stuck in a nightmare. Elias didn’t know what to do, so he just gripped the man’s shoulders and held him until the flailing stopped.

A few hours later, Elias fixed a sandwich for dinner and headed off to bed, unknowing if Austin would wake up soon or not.

When Austin got up, he nearly fell off the couch. His pain had started to numb, but he could tell it would come back worse if he didn’t do anything. 

He got up slowly and crept to the bedroom, watching Elias sleep for a few seconds. He moved the hair from the other man’s face, took a deep breath, and headed outside.

He hopped on Atlas and started to ride as fast as he could to the nearest doctor’s office, praying there would be something to help the pain.

The doctor’s visit took a few hours, but he got good news. There was a surgery, a safe surgery, to fix his heart and stop the episodes of pain. Austin took the offer to do it immediately, forgetting the time and forgetting Elias and thinking brightly, happily of the relief.

They would do it in the morning.


	9. A Time Of Less Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Austin comes back, finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have to upload today's chapters by myself (im kieran) because ethan isnt here today :'(

When Elias woke, Austin was gone. He felt fear course through him, worrying about the man’s health and sanity. What if he had wandered off? What if he had endangered himself? How long had Elias been sleeping?

He searched around the ranch for nearly two hours before giving up temporarily and lying down on the couch. The dogs played nearby, reminding him to fill their food bowls. At least he had something to do while he waited to see if Austin would return.

It was nearly four days before Austin came back. Elias waited out each day by doing chores and reading books and pretending to ignore the odd silence hanging around the house. The dogs provided distraction, but he kept feeling a longing in the back of his mind.

  
When Austin came back, Elias nearly cried. He ran to the door and welcomed the man in, helping him sit on the couch and going to interrogate him.  
“Where the h/ll were you, Mr. Grint?” He asked, concern thick in his voice.

“I got fixed, I got surgery, I'm okay.” Austin said showing Elias the stitching, smiling despite the remaining pain and the terrified expression on Elias’ face.

“Oh, well, okay. Are you feeling alright now? Is everything better?” He asked quickly. The stitching made him feel a little ill, but he ignored it in favor of checking on Austin.

“I feel great, don’t worry,” Austin replied, noticing the color of Elias’ face.

He gave Elias a tight, warm hug and kept repeating “I’ll be okay..”

They hugged for a while, Elias burying his face in Austin’s shoulder and almost refusing to let go.

“It’s alright, Elias. Now, what’s for breakfast?” Austin asked, pinching Elias’ cheek gently. Elias blanked.

“I, uh , didn’t really think about breakfast. I was busy looking for you, I guess,” Elias said, shrugging.. They had a good amount of food in the fridge and pantry, so there were many options.

“What about some grilled squirrel? That’s good eating.” Austin said.

“Sure. I’ve eaten rat before, so there’s nothing holding me back from trying squirrel.” Elias replied. He knew it might be a little odd, but he preferred that type of string, small game meat.

“Okay, well, fire up the grill, then!” Austin said excitedly.

They cooked up some squirrel bits and served them with a side of eggs and toast. Breakfast was hearty and filling, enough so to do good work around the ranch before lunch.

“We should probably try and repair those fences,” Elias said, referring to the fences that had somehow been knocked down recently.

“Yeah, if we don’t get them back up, we’ll have animals roaming all over the land. Gotta be safe. You thinkin’ we should repaint them, too?”

“Mhm,” Elias replied.

“You go to town and get the lumber to build the fences, and I'll get the paint,” Austin said with a smile. He ruffled Elias’ hair and watched as the other man headed to the wagon.

Elias headed off into town with a grin on his face, ready to get to work on the fences.

The ride wasn’t too long, and town wasn’t too busy, so he got to the lumber store with ease. The sales clerk questioned who he was for a bit, though, sort of like an interrogation.

“So, you’re a ranch hand for Mr. Grint?” The clerk asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, sir, I am.” Elias sat some lumber on the counter.

“The same Mr. Grint who's barely spoken to anyone since his family passed away? The same Mr. Grint who says all them mighty suspicious things about what happened back then? The same Mr. Grint who had two separate ranch hands go ‘missing’? ” The clerk sounded a little off-putting, like he didn’t believe Elias.

“Yes, sir, him. Austin isn’t too bad anymore, though. Just a little hard to crack, I suppose.” Elias nervously twiddled his thumbs. Two people, missing? Was this true?  
The clerk went stone-faced, swallowed.. and then broke into laughter.

“I’m messing with you, kid. Austin weren’t too good in the head after the accident, but I know he’d never actually make some hired help go missing.” The clerk smiled.

Elias faked a smile back and tried not to grimace at the word “hired.”

He, with the help of the clerk, packed the lumber in the wagon and headed off back home.

Austin was stuck in line.

“Ugh,” he said, frustrated. The line at the paint store was moving slowly and by the time he got back home, Elias had already finished building, and putting up the fences. 

“There was a long line at the store. I guess we can start painting now.” Austin said bluntly, a twinge of jealousy in his voice. He loved putting up fences.

“Okay! I think you got here just in time. I finished about a minute ago, hah.” Elias couldn’t tell that Austin was jealous, as he didn’t understand emotions very well. He just wanted to get the job done. 

  
Austin stomped over, pulled out the paint, and started to work. He still felt angry, but when he looked at Elias’ beaming face, he realized how stupid it was to be mad over fences. He once again ruffled Elias’ hair, and continued to paint.


	10. Nighttime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night doesn't always go by smoothly, but it tends to end up a nice way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapters >-< longer ones soon !!

When they got done painting, it was late in the afternoon. They sat down on the couch and listened to the radio with Molly and Douglas. 

Suddenly, there was a loud bang.

Elias nearly jumped out of his seat at the noise.

“What the hell was that?” He asked, fear rising in his throat.

“I have no idea,” Austin replied calmly, “Probably just the screen door.” 

They continued to listen to the radio, turning on a few good songs, when there was another loud noise.

“We should probably check that out. It could be dangerous, and I don’t like being taken by surprise.” Elias shuddered a little, imagining the possibilities. It could be another criminal, there to destroy their home or take their lives. It could be an animal, ferocious and without morals, not afraid to kill anything it found. _ Too many possibilities _ , he thought.

They walked to the screen door to find nothing. They searched the house and found nothing. 

“Should we check outside?” Elias asked. He felt his nerves grow stronger and his heart pace faster.

“Nah, it’ll be fine, it’s probably just a dog,” Austin reassured him, heading back towards the couch.

“Hey Elias, can you make us some decaf?”

“Yeah, sure,” Elias said, going off into the kitchen to make the decaf. He hoped it would distract him, but his mind kept remembering the night the barn burned down. He didn’t know when or if it would happen again, but every noise felt like a reminder of what could happen.

About an hour later, while peeking through a window, Elias swore he saw a figure.

“Austin, there was- there’s something out there. I just know it.” He stammered. Austin sighed.   
“No, there ain’t. It’s gonna be alright,” Austin comforted him, “If it’s so bad, you can curl up beside me. If anything comes inside, I’ll be there to protect you.”

And so, Elias did.

**Author's Note:**

> chapter schedule for the week:  
> monday: 2 chapters  
> tuesday: 2 chapters  
> wednesday: 1 chapter  
> thursday: 1 chapter  
> friday: 1 chapter (final chapter)


End file.
